News round up: Benefits clampdown on heroin and crack users

Nearly 267,000 heroin and crack users are on benefits and will be required to own up to their drug problems and take treatment – or lose their money, James Purnell the work and pensions secretary, will say today.

He will also announce measures that may take as many as 200,000 families out of child poverty.

Almost eight in ten young people in Britain do not feel safe walking the streets, a survey has found. A poll of 1,000 16 to 24 year olds found they are increasingly affected by violent crime, depression, stress and drugs.

The survey found that a fifth of young men had been threatened with a knife or weapon, and almost half knew someone else who had been.

Many Britons fear their prospects are being limited because of the pressure put on housing and schools by immigrants arriving in the UK, a new report warns.The report, titled Immigration and Social Cohesion in the UK, uncovered a stark divide in how parts of the UK adapt to new migrants.

While many people value their children growing up with cultural diversity, some feel their opportunities are reduced because of immigration.

Patients with a crippling condition are to be denied a choice of treatment under guidance to be published by the Government’s drug watchdog today. The ruling will affect about 60,000 people with rheumatoid arthritis, which has seen improved treatment by modern drugs.

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